The Promise
by the-wizards-of-panem
Summary: The 74th Hunger Games-except this time, in Prim's point of view.
1. The Reaping

I woke up and thought "_This is it, Prim, the day of your first reaping". _Oh joy. My mother was still lying next to me, asleep. I look over to the other side and see that Katniss is gone. "Doesn't really take much thought to figure out where she went," I muttered under my breath so that Mother wouldn't wake up.

See, every Sunday, Katniss goes hunting with her friend, Gale Hawthorne, in the outskirts of District 12. I think she likes him. She thinks I like his little brother, Vick. I don't. I look to our little kitchen table and see that the goats cheese I made from Lady's milk is gone.

"_ Wow, now what am I going to eat" _I think, just as Mother walks out of the bedroom door. " Go wash up, Primrose. You don't want to look like a slob on your first reaping day." Mother said, without excitement.

I walk to the well outside the house and I wash my face and rinse my teeth with the little water I could pump out. When I finished, my hairline was caked with water, so i decided to rinse my hair, too. I went back in and saw that Mother had already gotten dressed in her best formal clothes for the reaping, and had laid out Katniss' first reaping dress and shoes on my bed, for me to wear.

I took off my pyjamas and pulled on the tights (which were a tight fit),the shimmery blue shoes, and the dress. It was obvious that I had put it on in a real rush, but at the moment, my main goal is: FOOD. I ran out of my room and Katniss ( who, until now, I didn't even know was home), was standing next to the table in my mother's reaping dress, from when she was Katniss' age. It was a simple, sky blue dressnthat was slightly wavy at the bottom, but still very pretty."You look beautiful," I whispered before I could stop myself.

"And so do you!"Katniss smiled and tapped my nose. I giggled softly.

I looked at the table, where there was some game, two loaves of bread, and a small pile of money. We all sat down and ate a few slices of bread and some tomatoes, carrots, or any other vegetables that Mother grew in our yard. Mother looked at the clock. "It's almost ten to one, we should go to the square now." she said anxiously. I hopped out the door, Katniss closely behind me. "Tuck in your tail, you little duck," Katniss teased, as she straightened out my dress from the back.

People were still piling into the square as we got there. Though we're the smallest District out of all 12, we still are a large group. The whole square was packed with people, and the stage was surrounded by cameras. In the middle of the stage stood Effie Trinket, the Human Barbie Doll from the Capitol. I heard she wishes she was in charge of the reaping for other districts, because we haven't won since that old drunk, Haymitch Abernathy, won the Quarter Quell twenty four years ago. We have only two victors, and the other guy is dead.

"Welcome, welcome, to the reaping of the 74th Hunger Games." said Effie, with the word 'sarcastic' plastered all over her face. "_Well, someone wears too much makeup," _I thought with a grin. There were 2 big glass balls with thousands of papers with people's names on them in each one, each of them on either side of Effie. In the girls ball, I have 1 little piece of paper with the name 'Primrose Everdeen' on it. Katniss has 20, because she wouldn't let me take any of the tessarae. The mayor then came on and did his yearly boring speech about how Panem came to be, the rebellion against the Capitol, the obliteration of District 13, and finally, the reason for the Hunger Games. Same old boring stuff.

Effie trotted over to the girls' ball in her 6 inch stilettos. "Ladies first!" said Effie with a giggle. She reached her hand into the large glass ball for the girls. There was so much pressure in the air that it felt heavy on my shoulders. I hear Katniss whisper from somewhere behind me " Don't worry, Prim, your name is only in there once, they aren't going to pick you." But she was wrong. Because when Effie Trinket finally finished dramatically clawing at the air and overturning the names in there, she grabbed the name I least expected. " Our new District 12 female tribute is… Primrose Everdeen!"


	2. The Promise is Made

Me. Me, of all other teenage girls, I get picked. NOT. GOOD. I saw Effie Trinket looking down at me with her totally sarcastic face, and gesturing for me to come up onstage. I stiffly and awkwardly walked through the group of other girls my age, who had the expression on their faces saying "_Well, better HER than ME"._

I climbed up onto the stage, flattening the back of my shirt as I walk. I felt an awkward expression on my face. The people in the crowd looked angry at Effie, like they always do when a twelve year old gets picked. This really makes me feel better, if you know what I mean. Suddenly, in the crowd, an older girl shrieks randomly, "Prim, no!" I look over and recognize her as Katniss. I look at her with pain in my eyes. "I volunteer!" she shrieks louder now. "I volunteer as tribute," she yells again, pushing through the crowd. "Katniss, NO!" I cry, the last part kind of sounding like Buttercup when I forget to feed him.

I guess I made it obvious that I didn't want to go into the arena, because two peacekeepers hauled me off the stage. I tried biting, kicking, punching and more (bribery, more violence etc.), but their grip on me remained firm. When they put me down in front of my mom, I kicked one of them in the balls. I really hope it hurt, because he'd deserve it for making me look like a spaz in front of all my friends.

When I look up at the stage, I see that Katniss is just standing next to Haymitch Abernathy, our drunk victor. He seems to be trying to drink his liquor and yell something at the cameras at the same time. Suddenly, he plummets off the stage and knocks himself unconscious. Everyone is groaning. What an embarrassment

I can tell that Effie Trinket just asked Katniss who she was (which I didn't hear through my struggles with the peacekeepers), because she ignored Katniss completely as she bounded over to the boys' ball excitedly. She reached into the boys' reaping ball and started clawing around in the air. I saw all the boys staring at her, as if to say, "_Okay, just get on with it,"._ Effie then plucked the name at the very top, and she opened it up. "Our male tribute is… Peeta Mellark!" Peeta Mellark is the baker's son. Well, one of them. All of the baker's sons have names related to bread. When he stepped up onto the stage, no one volunteered for him. I felt sorry for the guy.

Effie then led everyone on the stage into the justice building. Everyone left, except for Mother, the Baker and his family, Gale and his family, and ME. We rushed into the Justice Building. Through much searching, we found the lounge where Katniss and Peeta were saying goodbye. I saw Katniss hugging the mayor's daughter, Madge, who also gave Katniss something in the hand. It was a small, golden pin with a mockingjay on top. It's very pretty, and it looked expensive.

Mother, Gale's family, and I rushed over to where Katniss was standing. You could tell she was trying really hard not to cry. Each one of us gave her tender hugs. "While I am gone, don't let my family starve, Gale, please." Katniss said quickly, giving him another hug. She then gave mother a huge hug. Mother burst into tears. "Don't cry." Katniss insisted. Mother nodded. "I love you honey." she said softly. She then walked away without another word

Katniss then turned to me. "I love you, Prim." she said, tears silently rolling down our faces. I jumped up and gave her the biggest hug I could. She stroked my hair.

"Katniss?"

"Yeah?"

"Try and win for me, please."

"I'll try my best."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Then Katniss released me, kissed my forehead, and said, "I love you," one last time. She walked away with some cookies from the baker in her hands. Is this the last time I will ever see my sister? I really hope not. And right now all I can think is worst. Reaping. Ever.


	3. On Television

The only way you ever get on Capitol television is if

1. You are a rebel/avox on the run.

2. You are a victor from past Hunger Games.

3. You are a tribute from this year's Hunger Games.

4. You live somewhere in the Capitol.

In my sister's case, it was option 3.

Within two days of Katniss' absence, Gale already has had to come over to our house seven times and help calm us down, though I can tell that he is sad, too. They replayed the footage of the reaping from each district over and over so often that you memorized what half the tributes ages, appearances, and moods are. Half of them aren't as sad looking as I am.

Tomorrow is the opening ceremony. I just hope Katniss looks good. Usually, they dress up the tributes in our district in coal mining outfits, which aren't really flattering. This morning, Gale came over and gave us some hunt, bread, money, and helped me harvest the rest of the vegetables we grew. "Take some for your family," I offered. "No, we have enough. Why don't you and your mother come over tomorrow and watch the opening ceremony with us?" Gale suggested. "Okay," I smiled.

Gale then left, and I made a stew with the venison Gale brought, some herbs, and onions. Father wrote down some recipes, which Katniss told me how to-

_Katniss._

_"No, Prim, stop thinking about Katniss." _I scold myself.

Today was the day of the opening ceremony. I convinced Mother to go to Gale's house with me to watch the ceremony. "Quickly, Primrose, we don't want to miss the start of the ceremony." Mother said, lifting her skirt to avoid the mud. She started jogging at a faster pace. Since I put on any old thing to rush to Gale's house, I was dressed in clothes that looked so odd that even people known for their bad style looked at me with weird expressions.

I knocked on Gale's door. Almost immediately, Hazelle, Gale's mother, opened the door.

"Come in," she said warmly. It smelled of fresh laundry in Hazelle's house. Her little daughter, Posy, was just starting school, so Hazelle made a point of keeping her busy in the kitchen with some scraps of paper to doodle on, just so that she would not yet have to know what the Hunger Games really are. Yet. Gale and his brothers, Vick and Rory, were sitting on the couch in front of the television, eagerly looking at the screen. Mother and I sat down in the armchairs next to the couch. District 7's chariot had just come into view. They were dressed as trees. Oh, please.

When District 11's chariot rounded the corner, the District 12 chariot popped out of the entrance. "Katniss! Oh, and Peeta, too! THEY'RE ON FIRE!" yelled Vick. We all looked in awe at the screen. They _were_ on fire. You could hear the crowd yelling "Katniss! Katniss!" or "Peeta! Peeta!" (mostly the first one) in the background, and the announcers saying all kinds of other stuff about her and Peeta similar to that. I don't know if I have ever been this proud that Katniss is my sister in my whole life.

Ever since the District 12 tributes were lit on fire, everyone around town was saying stuff like,

"With this many bets, people will be poor if they lose!" and

"We might just have a victor this year, eh?"

Today, I went over to the bakery with Gale, and the baker gave me free bread. "We have the same problem on our hands, why not share?" he said with a chuckle. I could tell that he was trying to lighten up the situation.I gave him some free herbs and goats cheese I made this morning with Lady at home. Gale traded a squirrel for some Hot Cross Buns.

We traded all kinds of food, which ended with me going home with potpies, scones, more meat from Gale, and money. Mother was delighted, and we had a feast. We invited Gale and his family, but they said they were busy. After dinner, Mother and I turned on the television. It was the training scores. Interesting. I turned up the volume. The lowest was a score of 2 from a boy in district 5. The highest so far was from Districts 1, 2, and 4, as every single one of them got 8, 9, or 10. It was onto District 11 now. 7 for the little girl, who looked my age, and 8 for the boy. Not bad!

Finally, it was time for District 12. Peeta's score was… 8. Pretty good! Now it was time for Katniss' score. Her face popped up and below it was the number… 11! The best yet! Mother and I jumped up and started screaming with joy. Maybe Katniss _was_ going to win. Then I thought of something worse. They might be trying to make people kill her early.


	4. The Interviews

Everyone in the District 12 was bragging about our tributes' performances. Except for the people familiar to/close with the tributes. At school, I heard whispers and things like "Did you see how good her sister's training score is?"

Stuff like that. All day. Kind of like a deja-vu of the fire thing. I hear people calling her "The Girl Who Was on Fire". See, this makes me proud. Right after school, Madge came up to me and tapped my shoulder. I turned around, and she put money in my palm. "You should send a gift to Katniss. You know, when she's in the arena." said Madge awkwardly.

"Thank you." I said, and I gave her a hug that I don't think she expected, but she smiled anyways.

Today, everyone rushed home to watch the interviews of the tributes. When we invited Hazelle and her family this time, they accepted. They came over just in time for them to have a little bit of dinner, which was some ground beef which I got from Greasy Sae (long story), shredded lettuce, shredded cheddar cheese (also from Greasy Sae), all wrapped in herb-infused pita breads. Like a soft-shell taco, but without the sauce. It was the first thing Mother made to eat since Katniss' absence.

Afterwards, everyone filed into the tiny room we call our "TV room". It has a couple chairs and a couch. Nothing special. I turned up the volume to the max, because, really, with all of us screaming, you couldn't hear a thing. Then the Capitol sign went up and music started playing.

"Aaaannnnd, hello, Panem, on this lovely night, I am Caesar Flickerman, and THESE are your tributes!" said Caesar with a large grin, and he waved his hand carelessly behind him, and the tributes started filing out of the curtains.

Caesar Flickerman has been interviewing tributes since my mother was just a small child. He dyes his hair a different colour every year. This year it's a dark blue, and he wears lipstick and eyeliner the same colour as his hair. Makes him look like a freak. He started the interviews at District 1. They were always favorites. It's really boring waiting for your district to actually go on, especially if you are the last district.

After about an hour, it was Katniss' turn. She looked stunning with her hair curled into a tight bun and a nice vibrant dress. All her talk about the lamb stew they had in the Capitol made me hungry, though I just ate. When she walked off, you could see that it was awkward for her in those six-inch heels. Peeta then came on, looking snazzy in a plain tux with flame accents. Gale sat there with a look of jealousy on his face. Then Peeta confessed his love for Katniss unexpectedly. Gale looked determined to do something.


	5. Into the Arena

Today, right after school ends, the tributes get launched into the arena. Everyone at school was anxious. People were tapping their feet and asking me questions about Katniss. I think I was the only one in the school to break down into tears.

When school ended, people stampeded out the door to go home and watch the launch. I try to imagine how Katniss feels right now. That makes me feel like I swallowed a rock.

I run home and mother isn't there. Hot tears ran down my cheeks. The launch was to start in minutes. Still panting, I sprint as fast as I can to Gale's house. Sure enough, my Mother sat on the couch sipping tea, sweating. As I entered the room, the tension was so thick you couldn't cut through it with a knife. You would need a chainsaw. Katniss was now locked in the glass tube and was being shot up to the arena. Everyone was looking at the television with eyes as wide as tennis balls. But not as fuzzy.

"_Five, four, three, two, one" _the countdown finished and there was a shot of a cannon. "Let the 74th Hunger Games begin!" announced Claudius Templesmith. All the tributes sprinted towards the Cornucopia in the middle of the arena. One tribute was stabbed in the back. He died, but not before he spit up blood in Katniss' face. This made me start panting like a wounded dog.

All kinds of people just died from the girl in District 2, who threw knives like a menace at the people who tried to escape to the forest or the bull rushes. That made me fall off of Hazelle's couch and start rolling on the ground. Katniss wasn't in sight. I gulped back my tears and immediately imagined the worst. "Mom, where's Katniss?" I said, tears running down my face. "I don't know, Primrose, dear." she said in a thick voice. What if she already died? Right when I thought that, Katniss appeared on screen again. She was deep in the forest now, with a knife sticking out of the back of her backpack, running for her life. Now I stopped crying. Well, not really.

It flashed to Peeta, who was grouping up with what remained of the Districts 1, 2, and 4. Oh _no. _It flashed to each and every tribute still alive once more, Katniss included. I took a deep breath and started crying again. She could die while they say that, and then Claudius Templesmith's voice would say, "Wait, one more just died! They really are laying the action down thick this year, eh?" Then it showed the deaths, gruesome as ever, which was just a black screen covering most of the action, but you could hear and see what was happening . 11 deaths! Unfortunately, none of those people include the people who look like threats. Fortunately, in that list it doesn't show Katniss or Peeta. The Capitol flashed their sign and then went on to a commercial break. Wow. Just so charming.

In the next two days, I was getting interviewed by my classmates about my sister. Even my teacher was asking questions. They were hard to answer, especially since she could be dead already. After school, Gale took me home because he was coming over to watch the games. I think he was in tears before, too, because his eyes are all red. Nine people left, and Katniss has an alliance with the girl from District 11. I heard her name was Rue. She saved Katniss from the Tracker-Jackers. I think I like her, but she could turn her back on Katniss, which scares me. Peeta also tried to save Katniss from that boy in District 2, but all he got from it was a nasty cut in the leg. I am surprised he hasn't died, because that thing should be infected, and when you are in that arena, you don't get medical attention.

When Gale and I got inside, Mother basically had her eyes plastered to the screen. Rue, Katniss' alliance just died with a spear to the stomach, and Katniss killed the killer with an arrow to the chest. I can tell that Katniss is actually sad that Rue died, because she was singing to the dying body. Poor Rue. Mother was getting the carpet all wet from tears.

The kills of the day were then announced, including people still alive. Katniss and Peeta were in the top 6! My heart started racing. They are so close. Before the Capitol sign appears, there is an announcement. "Attention, tributes. There are two pairs from the same district left in the games. Therefore, we are delighted to announce that if two tributes from the same district are still alive at the end of the games, they will both be considered victors. Thank-". But even the announcer's deep voice couldn't block out Katniss' shout of "PEETA!" Very smart Katniss. You just gave away your location.


	6. The Victors

In the next few days, frequently, when I turned on the television, I would see Katniss and Peeta kissing in the arena, just to feed him soup. _"That's a bit much,"_ I thought. Apparently, so did Gale, because every time he saw that, he would scowl.

News reporters from the Capitol started flying into District 12 to interview Peeta's family, and, of course, Mother and I. I spent the money that Madge gave me on sending Katniss some lamb stew, since she said she loved it so much in her interview with Caesar Flickerman. I just hope Haymitch sends it through if he isn't too drunk.

Sure enough, when I got home, there was a Capitol news reporter and a video camera. They were asking Mother questions like, "How does it feel like being the mother of one of the tributes in the top 6?" or, "How do you think she does it? I mean, she is fending for herself AND the other tribute in your district.". Then they saw me and said, "Ahhhhh… There she is! The reason your sister is in the arena in the first place." said the reporter with a smile. "She only volunteered because she loves me." I said through my teeth. "You never know! For all I know you could have planned this out beforehand." said the reporter. He winked at me and gave me a menacing grin, his purple hair shining. Then he continued asking mother questions.

He went too far. Forcing my sister to volunteer if I got picked. Even I wouldn't be that desperate. So, to teach to reporter a lesson, I went outside to the well with a bowl and filled it with as much water I could pump out.

"How do you think Katniss has survived this far?"

" I don't know, truthfully."

"C'mon, all the viewers like juicy gossip about the tributes!"

"Didn't I just tell you I DON'T KNOW?"

I could hear the reporter and Mother arguing inside. I walked inside with my bowl of water.

Tip-toeing inside with the bowl, I quietly walked in front of the camera and faced it.

"Hey, get out of the way, little girl-"

"Goodbye, people of Panem!" I said into the camera really slowly and sarcastically. I blocked the screen, and reached for my bowl of water, which I then poured onto the camera. The camera started smoking.

"What did you do, you little-" the reporter started, but before he could finish, I poured the rest of the water on his head.

"Get out." I said.

He left, muttering about how the people the districts are mental. Like he isn't.

After he left, Mother said, "Good job, Primrose."

"Thank you, I specialize in this stuff."

We turned on the television to see if Katniss was still… you know, alive.

Three tributes left. Including Katniss and Peeta. "It's Katniss, Mother, look!". She did look. Right when mutant mutts popped out of nowhere. They growled at Katniss, the boy from District 2, and Peeta as they were climbing the Cornucopia. Peeta was struggling because of his mutts were growling and jumping when the boy from District 2 lost his grip… a cannon shot was heard.

"They won!" I found myself shouting with glee. "No, they haven't, Prim. Listen." said Mother gravely. "They don't win unless you hear the horn." "There has been a change in the rules. There can only be one victor. Thank you!" said the announcer cheerfully. No. This can't be.

But when I look to the television once more, Katniss is putting poisonous berries into her mouth. So is Peeta. Ahhhhhh… The horn is blasted. "Wait, no! Let me introduce… the victors of the 74th Hunger Games!" said the announcer.

"THEY WON! YES!" Mother and I screamed. I ran out into the street and screamed at the top of my lungs. "THEY WON! WE HAVE TWO NEW VICTORS! WOOOOOOOOO!" I spun around, looking at the sun. You could hear the whole district cheering. People were hugging, crying and screaming, but you know, I know I thought this was bad, but maybe it is good. Now our family is rich, famous, and we even get a better house. And the best part is, my sister kept her promise.


End file.
